It’s not about you. Not anymore anyway. Back in the old days, and by old days I mean several years ago, the web consisted of millions of people standing on their proverbial soapbox shouting their message as loudly as they could to anyone that would listen. It worked. In fact, it worked quite well, until of course people decided they didn’t like being yelled at any longer and so they stopped listening and started talking amongst themselves. Sharing.
Suddenly there was something else to pay attention to…social media was born. Once it became pretty clear that it was here to stay, marketers moved in with a vengeance to pick up where they left off. Only now they were forced to shout their message in 140 characters or less. And then it got interesting…
We didn’t listen to those yelling at us. When they created their Facebook page we didn’t “like” it. When they uploaded their TV commercials onto YouTube, we didn’t watch them. The masses had spoken and marketing as we once knew it was dead. If you wanted our attention you were going to have to start listening to and communicating with us for a change.
There is a lot of good to come of this shift, especially if you are a small business. The playing field has been leveled. Success no longer comes down to who has the biggest wallet, the most employees or even the best product.
This is a good thing!
Success now comes down to those who can connect. Those who listen. Those with integrity. Those who offer value. Those willing to give away a little in order to get a lot. Those who are innovative. Those who help others. Those who will do whatever it takes. Those who think outside of the box. Those who swing for the fences. Those who can build a community. Those who listen to their community. Those who create. Those who make us laugh. Those who make us cry. Those who make us think. Those who share in order to help others. Those who are considerate. Those who love us just the way we are. Those who are willing to do things differently.
Each of us now has an equal chance to succeed. What you do with that chance is up to you. I suggest you start by listening more and shouting less…
About Marc
